Transcript Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice

Digital Planet:
Tomorrow’s Technology
and You
George Beekman • Ben Beekman
Tenth Edition
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Digital Planet:
Tomorrow’s Technology and You
Chapter 1
Exploring Our Digital Planet
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Chapter 1 Objectives
 Describe digital technology’s critical role in our lives
 Discuss several key trends in the evolution of
computers and digital technology
 Describe the major types of computers and their
principal uses
 Explain how the growth and evolution of the Internet
is changing our lives
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Objectives (cont.)
 Explain how our information age differs from any
time that came before
 Discuss the social and ethical impact of information
technology on our society
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Living in a Nondigital World
• Computers are
everywhere.
• Our lives are directly
affected when they do
not operate.
• Computers have
infiltrated our lives so
we do not know how to
function without them.
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Computers in Perspective
 Computers have been with us for a short time but
are built on centuries of insight and effort.
 Early humans counted with fingers or rocks.
 The abacus was used by Babylonians and Chinese for
thousands of years.
 By early 19th century, the need for more accurate
calculating tools became evident.
 Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace imagined the
construction of the Analytical Engine.
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Computers in Perspective (cont.)
 Brief history of computers
• 1939—Atanasoff-Berry Computer created
• 1943—Alan Turing developed Colossus
• 1944—Mark I completed to compute ballistics tables
• 1945—ENIAC completed
• 1951—UNIVAC I (the first general-purpose commercial
computer) was delivered to the U.S. Census Bureau
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Computers in Perspective (cont.)
Computer hardware
• Early computers used vacuum
tubes.
• Tubes were replaced by
transistors.
• By mid-1960s, more powerful
machines were based on
integrated circuits—small
silicon chips containing
hundreds of transistors.
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A vacuum tube, a transistor,
and an integrated circuit.
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Computers in Perspective (cont.)
 Benefits of integrated circuits
• Reliability: Less prone to failure
• Size: Single chips could replace entire boards
• Speed: Electricity had shorter distances to travel
• Efficiency: Small chips used less electrical power and
created less heat
• Cost: Mass production techniques made it easy to
manufacture inexpensive chips
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Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy
Thanks to an abundance of low-cost
microprocessors, today’s world is
populated with an incredible variety of
computers, each particularly wellsuited to specific tasks.
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Embedded Systems
 Embedded system: A microprocessor used as a
component of a larger system
 More than 90% of microprocessors are hidden inside
common household and electronic devices:
• Thermostats, traffic lights, cars
• Wristwatches, toys, game machines
• TVs, camcorders, ovens
 Anything powered by electricity—battery or house
current—is candidate for microprocessor implant
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Personal Computers
 Personal computer: Designed to be used by one person
at a time
• Tool for enhancing productivity, creativity,
communication
 Desktop computer has several components:
• Tower (containing microprocessor and other
components)
• Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers
 Some house all components in monitor casing
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Workstations
 Workstation: A high-end desktop computer with
massive computing power.
• Used for computationally intensive interactive
applications
• Large-scale scientific data analysis
 Line separating workstations and desktop computers
becoming less distinct.
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Portable Computers
• Laptop computers—
sometimes called notebook
computers—designed for
portability
• Netbooks are extra-small,
extra-light, no-frills
computers
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Handheld Devices
• Personal digital assistants
(PDAs)
• Smart phones combine the
functions of a phone, camera,
PDA, game machine, and
music/video player.
• Tablet computers bridge the
gap between smart phone and
notebook/netbook PC.
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Smart phone
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Servers
 Server: A computer that provides other computers
connected to a network with access to data,
programs, and other resources
 Any desktop computer can be used as a server but
some are specifically designed for this purpose.
 Servers have faster processors, more memory, or
faster network connections.
 Often clustered together in groups to increase
processing power
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Mainframes
 Mainframes: Room-sized computers with price tags
to match
 Before microcomputers, most information processing
was done on mainframe computers.
 Today mainframe computers are used by large
organizations, such as airlines and banks.
 Mainframe computers can communicate with several
users simultaneously through timesharing.
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Supercomputers
• Typical supercomputer
is constructed out of
thousands of
microprocessors.
• Power users with
special requirements
need access to fastest,
most powerful
computers.
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Computer Connections:
The Internet Revolution
 Internet: Work began on experimental network in
the in late 1960s as it evolved it became known as
the Internet.
 In 1990s, software became more usable.
 The Internet was transformed from text-only to
include pictures, animation, sounds, and video.
 The World Wide Web (WWW) became accessible to
millions who connect through a Web browser.
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Computer Connections:
The Internet Revolution (cont.)
 Growth of the Internet
• Widespread email and Web use
• Few million users in 1990s—about two billion users
today
• Internet’s population reflects population at large
• More than half are now female
• Areas with no Internet access are harder to find
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Computer Connections:
The Internet Revolution (cont.)
 Web 2.0 sites are built around contributions from
Web users
• My Space
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Google Maps
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Into the Information Age
 10,000 years ago, people learned to domesticate
animals and grow their own food.
 Agricultural age: Lasted until about 200 years ago
 Industrial age: Advances in machine technology
ushered in this age
 Information age: A convergence of computer and
network technology—where most people earn their
living working with words, numbers, and ideas
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Living with Digital Technology
 In 1943, Thomas Watson, Sr., declared that the world
would not need more than five computers.
 Since then, computers have evolved from massive,
expensive, unreliable calculators into (mostly)
dependable, versatile machines.
 Who could have imagined netbooks, iPhones,
PlayStations, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter,
eBay, robot moon rovers, or laserguided “smart
bombs”?
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Phases of the Information Age
1. Institutional computing phase, starting about 1950:
large, expensive mainframes
2. Personal computing phase, starting about 1975:
millions of PCs joined mainframes
3. Interpersonal computing phase, starting about 1995:
networks connected the PCs and mainframes
4. Collaborative computing phase, starting about 2005:
smart phones, tablets, and other digital devices join
PCs on the Internet; migration to Internet “cloud”
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Explanations: Clarifying Technology
 Computer hardware and software details change
every few years.
 Internet is evolving even faster.
 Most of the underlying concepts remain constant.
 It is important to understand the basics to keep up
with the changes.
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Applications: Digital Technology in Action
 Everyone can benefit from knowing the following:
• Network applications
• Word processing and desktop publishing
• Spreadsheets and databases
• Graphics and image processing
• Audio, video, and multimedia
• Programming and customized problem solving
• Artificial intelligence
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Implications: Social and Ethical Issues
 Potential risks of digital technology:
• Threat to personal privacy
• Hazards of high-tech crime
• Difficulty of defining and protecting intellectual property
• Threat of automation and the dehumanization of work
• Abuse of information for political and economic power
• Dangers of dependence on complex technology
• Emergence of biodigital technology
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Computer Ethics
 Know the rules and the law.
 Don’t assume that it’s okay if it’s legal.
 Think scenarios.
 When in doubt, talk it out.
 Make yourself proud.
 Remember the golden rule.
 Take the long view.
 Do your part.
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History of the Future
 Today’s technology raises fascinating and difficult
questions.
 We will need to deal with even more difficult
questions as technology evolves.
 Exponential growth in computing power makes it
likely that we will see technology that was once
considered far-fetched in our everyday lives.
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Chapter 1 Summary
 Mechanical computing devices date back hundreds
of years.
 First real computers were developed during 1940s.
 Computers have evolved at an incredible pace,
becoming consistently smaller, faster, more efficient,
more reliable, and less expensive.
 Computers today come in all shapes and sizes with
specific types suited for particular jobs.
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Summary (cont.)
 Connecting to a network enhances the value and power
of a computer.
 Computers share resources with other computers and
facilitate electronic communication with other users.
 The Internet is a collection of networks connecting
computers and other devices around the globe.
 Internet users have access to billions of pages on the
World Wide Web.
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Summary (cont.)
 Our civilization is in a transition from an industrial
economy to an information economy.
 Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence,
offer promise for future applications.
 At the same time, computers threaten our privacy,
our security, and perhaps our way of life.
 Our future depends on computers and our ability to
understand and use them in productive, positive
ways.
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